Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Guyana: Venezuela

Lord Stevens of Birmingham: To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) diplomatic, (2) defence, and (3) other support, they will provide to the government of Guyana, following Venezuela's referendum proposing the illegal annexation of Guyana's Essequibo region.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are concerned by the recent steps taken by Venezuela. We are clear that the border was settled in 1899 through international arbitration. The Foreign Secretary has reassured President Ali of this. We continue to work with regional partners and international bodies to de-escalate tensions.Minister Rutley visited Guyana on 18 December. He met with President Ali, Foreign Secretary Todd, National Security Advisor Captain Gerry Gouveia, Defence Force Chief of Staff Brigadier Omar Khan and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary General Dr Carla Barnett to show UK support for Guyana's territorial integrity.

Guyana: Venezuela

Lord Stevens of Birmingham: To ask His Majesty's Government whatrepresentations they have made to the government of Venezuela regarding the territorial integrity of Guyana.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government does not recognise the legitimacy of the Maduro regime. We are concerned by the recent steps taken by Venezuela. We are clear that the border was settled in 1899 through international arbitration. The Foreign Secretary has reassured President Ali of this. We continue to work with regional partners and international bodies to de-escalate tensions.Minister Rutley visited Guyana on 18 December to show UK support for its territorial integrity. He met with President Ali, Foreign Secretary Todd, National Security Advisor Captain Gerry Gouveia, Defence Force Chief of Staff Brigadier Omar Khan and The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary General Dr Carla Barnett to show UK support for Guyana's territorial integrity.

Bangladesh: Rohingya

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current humanitarian situation for the almost 1 million Rohingya in refugee camps in Bangladesh; and what plans they have to provide any additional humanitarian aid and support.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: Food ration cuts in the Rohingya refugee camps is currently resulting in rising malnutrition and insecurity is worsening. The UK is a leading donor to the Rohingya response in Bangladesh, providing over £373 million in humanitarian support for the crisis since 2017. The UK will be announcing further funding this week, for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and the humanitarian response in Myanmar.

Thailand: Refugees

Baroness Cox: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to make representations to the government of Thailandregarding its policy of refouling of refugees from Karenni state, Myanmar, as reported by Human Rights Watch.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK has called on Thailand to respect its obligations under the non-Refoulement principle under customary international law. The UK actively promotes the implementation of Thailand's Act on Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance 2022, which prevents government agencies and public officials from deporting a refugee to a country where they would be in danger of torture or other ill-treatment. UK Ministers and diplomats - in coordination with likeminded partners - have previously intervened privately at senior levels with the Royal Thai Government regarding cases of alleged forced return of persons believed to be in danger of being subjected to torture or other ill treatment.

Libya: Politics and Government

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to bring about a unified government in Libya.

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Egypt regarding the withdrawal of its support for the militia in the east of Libya.

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Morocco regarding the withdrawal of its support for militia in the west of Libya.

Viscount Waverley: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support efforts to remove foreign mercenary groups from Libya.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is working closely with its international partners and United Nations to reinvigorate the political process in Libya. We support Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) Bathily's efforts to outline a way forward to a unified Government. As UN Security Council penholder, the UK engages internationally to support SRSG Bathily's efforts, particularly with the region. The UK regularly calls for the withdrawal of foreign mercenaries and works closely with Libyan interlocutors through the Security Working Group on disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration of Libya's security actors.

Guyana: Venezuela

Lord West of Spithead: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the situation between Venezuela and Guyana.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK is concerned by the recent steps taken by Venezuela with respect to the Essequibo region of Guyana. We consider the unilateral actions of Venezuela unjustified and have said they should cease. The UK is clear that the border was settled in 1899 through international arbitration.The Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Americas, Caribbean and Overseas Territories) visited Guyana on 18 December to show UK support for its territorial integrity.

Bahrain: Human Rights

Lord Scriven: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy and Human Rights Watch on 6 December that 13 people have been unfairly imprisoned in Bahrain, and what are the implications for the funding under the Gulf Strategy Fund given to Bahraini bodies which are accused of committing torture and whitewashing human rights abuses.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The FCDO follows matters that relate to human rights in Bahrain closely, is aware of reporting about the court proceedings referenced and continues to encourage allegations of torture or mistreatment to be reported to the appropriate national oversight body. We have previously been assured in other cases (where individuals linked to one charge are tried together) that an individual's right to separate legal representation of their choice is guaranteed by law. We remain committed to supporting reforms in Bahrain, including through the Gulf Strategy Fund, itself subject to robust oversight measures and rigorous risk assessments to ensure projects are effective, consistent with our values and in line with our human rights obligations.

British Virgin Islands: Marriage

Lord Smith of Finsbury: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have hadwith the Governor of the British Virgin Islands in relation to the proposed referendum on same-sex marriage and partnerships; and whether they plan to instruct the Governor to intervene to ensure that international legal obligations are upheld.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As separate, largely self-governing jurisdictions with their own democratically-elected representatives, the British Overseas Territories are responsible for their own legislation regarding marriage and civil partnerships.The UK Government has had several discussions with the Governor of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) about the Premier's plans for a referendum on same sex marriage and civil partnerships.We continue to encourage the Overseas Territories to ensure their legislation delivers greater equality and is compliant with international human rights obligations.

Tigray: Armed Conflict

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the statement published by Refugees International on 27 November concerning the war in Tigray, which stated that "between 40 and 50 per cent of womenexperienced gender-based violence"; and what steps they are taking, together with international partners, to bring those responsible to justice.

Lord Benyon: We welcome independent reporting such as Refugees International's and are appalled by the reports of gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence committed by all sides during the conflict in Northern Ethiopia. The United Kingdom condemns sexual violence unequivocally and without exception and stands with all victims and survivors. We continue to call for the Government of Ethiopia to develop and implement an inclusive and credible Transitional Justice policy, to ensure accountability for atrocities and human rights violations including gender-based violence and have offered support to the Government of Ethiopia on this. Through our human rights and peacebuilding programme, the United Kingdom is helping to build the investigative capacity of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to deliver justice and accountability for victims, including survivors of gender-based violence. Our humanitarian programming also involves work to improve the availability and accessibility of services for survivors.

Sudan: Religious Freedom

Baroness Cox: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the state of freedom of religion or belief in Sudan after the church bombing in Omdurman on 4 November, which left 6 children dead and 23 people wounded.

Lord Benyon: The UK has consistently denounced all human rights violations that have taken place in Sudan since the military coup in October 2021, including the escalation in abuses since conflict broke out in April. The continued widespread violence and significant civilian death toll must end. We are not aware of any significant increase in the discrimination or persecution of religious minorities in the country since April. We engage regularly with, and support the work of, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who continue to monitor this.

Ministry of Defence

Marines: Finance

Lord Stevens of Birmingham: To ask His Majesty's Government whetherThe Equipment Plan 2023–2033, published on 4 December, includes comprehensive cost estimates for the Royal Marines' Future Commando modernisation programme.

The Earl of Minto: The Commando Force modernisation programme is delivering a transformational change to the UK's amphibious capability. The programme will be delivered in two investment increments, called OPERATE and FIGHT.OPERATE will deliver a transformation of 3 Commando Brigade's operational capability on land. This element is fully funded with cost estimates being included in the Equipment Plan 2023-2033.FIGHT will deliver the additional capabilities required to conduct ship-to-shore operations in a contested maritime environment. Estimates for this increment are not included in the Equipment Plan but will be considered within the 2025 Defence Review investment decisions.

Guided Weapons: Procurement

Lord Stevens of Birmingham: To ask His Majesty's Government whetherThe Equipment Plan 2023–2033, published on 4 December, includes full predicted costs for their proposed development and acquisition of new ground-launched, long range, precision-guided weapons; and if not, why.

The Earl of Minto: The development and acquisition of new ground-launched, long range, precision-guided weapons are included in the Equipment Plan 2023-2033.All Land Deep Fires Programme costs have been included except for Land precision strike, for which funding has not yet been committed.

Defence Equipment: Procurement

Lord Stevens of Birmingham: To ask His Majesty's Government whyThe Equipment Plan 2023–2033, published on 4 December, includes full predicted costs for the Royal Navy and RAF but not British Army capabilities required to deliver (1) theIntegrated Review Refresh 2023, published in March, and (2) theDefence Command Paper: Defence's response to a more contested and volatile world, published in July.

The Earl of Minto: The Equipment Plan 2023-33 is based on data from the close of financial year 2022-23 and does not reflect the policy intent set out in the Defence Command Paper Refresh published this July. The department's operating model, where responsibility for managing the equipment plan is delegated to Top Level Budgets, allows them to have different financial positions and to be at different stages of addressing their financial pressures.

Department for Education

Apprentices: Taxation

Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what percentage,of levy-paying employers have spent more than half the funds in their apprenticeship levy account, for each of the past five financial years.

Baroness Blower: To ask His Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what percentage, of levy-paying employers have transferred the maximum 25 per cent of apprenticeship levy funds to other businesses, for each of the past five financial years.

Baroness Barran: UK employers with an annual pay bill above £3 million pay the apprenticeship levy, which is collected by HM Revenue & Customs. The government introduced the apprenticeship levy to incentivise larger businesses to develop and invest in their own apprenticeship programmes whilst ensuring the availability of funding for smaller employers wanting to offer apprenticeships. Through the levy, the government is increasing investment in the apprenticeships system in England to £2.7 billion in the 2024/25 financial year to support employers of all sizes build their workforces. As the apprenticeships levy is UK wide, income from the levy also supports the Devolved Administrations to invest in their skills programmes.In England, employers can use their levy funds for apprenticeships in their own business or transfer their funds to support apprenticeships in other businesses. Funds that levy payers do not draw on is used to fund apprenticeships in small and medium sized businesses. Levy payers are not expected to use all funds available to them, though they are able to do so.Employers in England who pay the apprenticeship levy can access funds for apprenticeship training and assessment by registering for an apprenticeship service account. The funds in employers’ accounts reflect the ‘English percentage’ of an employer’s levy contribution and include a 10% top-up from the government.The funds available to levy-paying employers through their apprenticeship service accounts does not represent the total spend on apprenticeships for levy-paying empoyers and is not the same as the apprenticeships budget which funds apprenticeships for employers of all sizes. On average, 98% of the apprenticeships budget has been spent in the last two financial years.The table below shows the number of levy-paying employers that have spent more than 50% of the funds declared in their apprenticeship service accounts, including the 10% top-up from the government, in each financial year from 2018/19 to 2022/23.FYNumber of employers who spent more than 50% of levy fundsPercentage of total employers who spent more than 50% of levy funds2018/194,21027%2019/206,00036%2020/216,08035%2021/226,58035%2022/236,97035%  The department is supporting employers to make greater use of their levy and have improved the transfer system to make it easier to find other employers who wish to take on apprentices with transferred funds. In April 2019, the department increased the transfer allowance from 10% to 25%, so levy-paying employers could transfer more of their annual funds to support any employer. Since September 2021, over 500 employers, including ASDA, HomeServe, and BT Group, have pledged to transfer over £33 million to support apprenticeships in businesses of all sizes. The table below shows the number of levy-paying employers who spent all of their transfer allowance in each financial year from 2018/19 to 2022/23.FY (of allowance calculation)Employers who used all their transfer allowancePercentage of total employers who used all their transfer allowance2018/19700.4%2019/201701.0%2020/212801.6%2021/223702.0%2022/232701.4%  With regard to allowing levy-paying employers to use their funds on non-apprenticeship training schemes and courses, I refer the noble lady to the answer of 10 November 2023 to Question 614.

Universities: Anti-semitism

Lord McCrea of Magherafelt and Cookstown: To ask His Majesty's Government whatfurther steps they are taking to tackle anti-Semitism in universities.

Baroness Barran: ​​This government takes antisemitism extremely seriously. The department is deeply concerned about the growth in antisemitic incidents on campus since the 7 October terrorist attacks against Israel. That is why, on 22 November, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced in his Autumn Statement an additional £7 million over 3 years to tackle antisemitism in education.​My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State, wrote to all schools, colleges and universities on 11 October, urging them to respond swiftly to hate-related incidents and actively reassure Jewish students that they can study without fear of harassment or intimidation. The department wrote again to Vice Chancellors on 16 November, further emphasising the use of disciplinary measures and the importance of police engagement, as well as the suspension of student visas where the student is a foreign national. This was one of the key actions set out in the five-point plan for tackling antisemitism in higher education, which was published on 5 November 2023.​

Children in Care: Mental Health Services

Lord Carlile of Berriew: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their timetable for updating theStatutory Guidance on Promoting the Health and Well-being of Looked After Children, published in March 2015; whether there will be a specific focus on mental health services for this group; and how they plan to deliver updated guidance in a culturally sensitive way.

Baroness Barran: The government gave a commitment to update the statutory guidance, ‘Promoting the health and wellbeing of looked-after children’ and extend it to care leavers up to the age of 25, in the ‘Stable Homes, Built on Love’ strategy for the reform of children’s social care. The update forms part of the wider mission in the strategy, ‘to reduce the disparities in long-term mental and physical health outcomes and improve wellbeing for care-experienced people’.This commitment was reaffirmed in September 2023, but a timeframe for completing the update has not been set. However, the department and the Department of Health and Social Care continue to work together on this update and will work with a wide range of stakeholders with a diversity of professional and lived experience to ensure that the guidance is sensitive to the health and wellbeing needs of all looked-after children and care leavers.

Schools: Inspections

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to implement reforms to replace the single-word assessment system for schools currently being operated by Ofsted.

Baroness Barran: The overall effectiveness grade is an important part of the government’s accountability arrangements. It provides clarity for parents, and triggers support where it is needed to improve outcomes for children. In the absence of that grade, there would need to be an alternative basis for intervention, which would add complexity and risk the loss of transparency when decisions are made.There is also an important read across to other sectors. Grades are used across Ofsted inspections, not just in schools, and are used by other inspectorates in some other public service inspectorates, including in health and adult social care.Following the tragic death of Ruth Perry, the department is working with His Majesty’s Chief Inspector to look closely at the coroner’s findings. The department and Ofsted will make further changes beyond those already announced in June 2023 where these are needed to make sure that the inspection system supports schools and teachers.

Ruth Perry

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills following the report of the senior coroner for Berkshire into the death of Ruth Perry.

Baroness Barran: The death of Ruth Perry was the most awful tragedy. The Inquest has now concluded and it is clear that lessons need to be learned. The department is working with His Majesty’s Chief Inspector to look closely at the coroner’s findings. The department and Ofsted will make further changes beyond those already announced in June 2023 where these are needed to make sure that the inspection system supports schools and teachers, and ultimately secures Ruth Perry’s legacy.

Pupils: Absenteeism

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what initiatives and programmes they are pursuing to tackle the problem of pupil absenteeism, and what evaluation of the effectiveness of each of these programmes is beingundertaken.

Baroness Barran: Improving attendance is one of the department’s top priorities. The department has published the ‘Working together to improve school attendance’ guidance, encouraging all schools and local authorities to adopt the practices of the most effective schools. A link to the guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/working-together-to-improve-school-attendance. All schools are now expected to publish an attendance policy and appoint an attendance champion. Local authorities are expected to meet termly with schools to agree individual plans for children at risk of absenteeism. The department’s attendance hubs now support 800 schools benefiting over 400,000 pupils.The department has deployed 10 expert attendance advisers to work with trusts and all local authorities to review practices, develop plans to improve and meet expectations set out in the guidance.To help identify children at risk of persistent absence and to enable early intervention, the department has established a timelier flow of pupil level attendance data through the daily attendance data collection. This also enables analysis to local authority level of trends in different types of absence by characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, children on free school meals, those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. The data is made available to schools, trusts and local authorities to pupil level via a secure interactive dashboard. 87% of schools subscribe to the tool to spot at risk pupils. ​Recent data show that the department is making progress, with around 380,000 fewer children persistently not in school in 2022/23 compared to 2021/22.The department has also commissioned an attendance mentoring programme to build the evidence base on what works to improve school attendance. The programme is a £2.3 million pilot over three years across five Priority Education Investment Areas (Doncaster, Knowsley, Middlesbrough, Salford, Stoke-on-Trent), supported by a detailed evaluation. Findings from the first-year evaluation are expected to be published in early 2024.

Schools: Attendance

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what are (1) the monthly school attendance figures for the most recent academic year for whichthey are available, and (2) the comparablemonthly schoolattendance figures for the school year 2018–19.

Baroness Barran: The department holds data on pupil attendance and absence from two sources, the termly National Statistics derived from the School Census, and the Official Statistics in development derived from daily pupil attendance data. Pupil absence rates for the 2018/19 academic year are only available on a termly basis, therefore the below table displays the latest termly comparison from the same source (School Census).18/19 Autumn term18/19 Spring term18/19 Summer term21/22 Autumn term21/22 Spring term21/22 Summer term22/23 Autumn term22/23 Spring termOverall absence rate4.3%4.8%5.2%6.9%7.9%8.0%7.5%7.0%Rate of sessions recorded as not attending due to COVID circumstances0.0%0.0%0.0%1.6%1.0%0.1%0.0%0.0%Source: School census, includes state-funded primary, state-funded secondary and special schools The data used in this answer is published in the National Statistics release on pupil absence in schools in England, which is accessible at:https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-absence-in-schools-in-england. The department also publishes weekly and termly official statistics in development on pupil attendance. These are derived from daily attendance data automatically submitted by management information systems for participating schools. These statistics are available at:https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/pupil-attendance-in-schools. Due to the timeliness of this data, and the data being based on a subset of schools, with around 87% coverage, these figures should be viewed as an early indicator for the termly school census based National Statistics shared above.

Care Leavers: Finance

Lord Polak: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Autumn Statement made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 22 November (HC Deb cols 325–357), whether they have any plans to provide an enhanced package offinancial support for care leavers aged 18 to 25 when they leave the care system.

Baroness Barran: The department recognises the challenges that care leavers face as they make the transition from care to living independently and have put in place a range of support measures.To help care leavers to engage in education, employment and training (EET), the department has increased the Care Leavers’ Apprenticeships Bursary from £1,000 to £3,000. Local authorities are required to support care leavers to engage in EET, including providing a £2,000 bursary if the young person is studying in higher education. Care leavers are also a priority group for the 16 to19 bursary if studying in further education (up to £1,200 per year).In addition, the department has increased the leaving care allowance from £2,000 to £3,000 to enable care leavers to furnish their first home, and the Junior ISA scheme provides an initial £200 payment to open a savings account for all children who have been in care continuously for 12 months. Anyone can pay money into the accounts, and the funds can then be accessed by the young person when they leave care at age 18.Improving outcomes for care leavers is a cross-government priority and there are a range of ways in which the government is supporting care leavers to reduce their financial vulnerability, including: Providing support to care leavers through the Household Support Fund, which local authorities can use to help vulnerable residents to help with cost-of-living increases.Promoting the support available through the Warm Home Discount Scheme, which provides support with energy costs over the winter.Local authorities are required to publish their ‘local offer’ for care leavers, setting out care leavers’ legal entitlements, plus any further discretionary financial support that the local authority provides, such as Council Tax Exemptions, free leisure passes and rent deposit/guarantor schemes.

Social Services: Racial Discrimination

Baroness Garden of Frognal: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend tomeet representatives of with Barnardo’s to discuss how local authorities can work with partners to prevent the over-criminalisation of Black children in the care system.

Baroness Barran: The department considers charity sector colleagues to be key stakeholders in work taking place across the department, including on children’s social care reform, as outlined in 'Stable Homes, Built on Love'. The department regularly engages with the Chief Executive and Policy Leads from Barnardo’s on children’s social care policy, as well as their counterparts at Action for Children, The Children’s Society, National Children’s Bureau and NSPCC. The charity sector is also represented in a variety of reference groups on specific aspects of children’s social care policy.The majority of children in care do not have any interaction with the criminal justice system. Offending rates for children in care are now at 2%, down from 5% in 2015.The department has a national protocol in place on reducing the unnecessary criminalisation of looked after children and care leavers and is taking action on risk factors that can lead to criminal behaviour including through the department’s work to improve school attendance.The department continues to work urgently across government and with local authorities to ensure that all vulnerable children, no matter their age or circumstances, are kept safe and receive the support they need.

Children in Care: Housing

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask His Majesty's Government whatforecasting they have carried out regarding the number of children in care aged 16 and 17 who will be living in supported accommodation settings that do not provide care in the next (1) one, (2) three, and (3) five, years.

Baroness Barran: The department does not currently publish forecasts of care places for children, including for 16 and 17 year olds who will be living in supported accommodation settings.Local authorities have a statutory duty to make sure that there is sufficient provision in their area to meet the needs of children in care. The government will provide national support with forecasting, procurement and market shaping to local authorities to help them to manage the demand for and supply of children’s social care placements in their area.

Universities: Antisemitism

Lord Turnberg: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of antisemitic incidents in universities, and what steps they are taking in response to such incidents.

Baroness Barran: The department is deeply concerned about the sharp rise in antisemitic incidents and this government takes antisemitism extremely seriously. The department continues to liaise closely with Community Security Trust who provide regular updates on the number of antisemitic incidents reported in higher education (HE) since 7 October.The Secretary of State and the Minister for Skills wrote to all schools, colleges and universities on 11 October, urging them to respond swiftly to hate-related incidents and actively reassure Jewish students that they can study without fear of harassment or intimidation. The Minister for Skills wrote again to Vice Chancellors on 16th November, further emphasising the use of disciplinary measures and the importance of police engagement, as well as the suspension of student visas where the student is a foreign national. This was one of the key actions set out in the five-point plan for tackling antisemitism in HE, which was published on 5 November. Details of the plan can be accessed at: https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2023/11/05/how-were-protecting-jewish-students-on-university-campuses/.A key element of the plan is the development and implementation of a Quality Seal, which is a framework of measures that will allow universities to demonstrate support for Jewish students and staff. The Quality Seal will be based on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism and will allow universities to demonstrate tangible evidence of its adoption and integration into their policies and practice.​The department continues to remind providers of their obligations under the prevent duty, where they should be working to prevent people from being drawn into or supporting terrorism. There is an online ‘Reporting Extremism’ form where members of the public can raise concerns to the department directly. Where concerns have arisen, departmental officials have reached out to relevant providers to ensure that appropriate action has been taken, including reporting issues to the police where appropriate.

Children in Care: Housing

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they havemade of the impact on children in care who are moved more than 20 miles from home.

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their publication on 16 November of data on 'Children looked after in England including adoptions', which showed that more than 21 per cent of children in care had been moved more than 20 miles away from home, what steps they are taking to ensure that the number does not continue to rise in future years.

Baroness Barran: Local authorities have a statutory duty set out in Section 22(3) of the Children’s Act 1989 to make sure that there is sufficient provision in their area to meet the needs of children in their care.The department is supporting local authorities to meet their statutory duties through £259 million capital funding over this Parliament. The funding for open residential placements, which is match-funded equally by the department and local authority investment, is expected to create 95 new children’s homes, providing 360 additional placements across England. Funding will also create 54 additional secure welfare placements and ten step-down placements through the delivery of two new build and one rebuild secure children’s home, which are scheduled to be completed in the next spending review period.The department is investing over £27 million to deliver a fostering recruitment and retention programme so foster care is available for more children who need it. This is in addition to the department establishing a kinship carer training offer and implementing family network support packages through the £45 million Families First for Children pathfinder and Family Networks pilot.The department is also investing £10 million to develop Regional Care Co-operatives to plan, commission and deliver children’s social care placements. Through operating on a larger scale and developing specialist capabilities, the Regional Care Co-operatives will be able to develop a wide range of places to better meet children’s needs. This, in turn, should lead to improved placement stability and fewer out of area placements.While there are some circumstances that mean it is the right decision for a child to be placed outside their home authority to, for example, protect them from criminal or sexual exploitation, the department recognises that it is not ideal for children to be placed away from home and wants to reduce the number of out of area placements.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Flood Control

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking tomitigate the potential financial impact of flooding in communities across the UK.

Lord Benyon: The joint Government and insurance industry Flood Re scheme aims to promote affordability and availability of insurance for UK households at high flood risk. In 2022/23, Flood Re provided cover for over 265,000 household policies. More than 500,000 properties have benefitted since the scheme’s launch.In April 2022 the Government made regulations to allow Flood Re to pay claims from insurers which include an amount for resilient repair (Build Back Better) up to a value of £10,000 over and above the cost for like-for-like reinstatement. Build Back Better will further help eligible flooded households become more resilient to flooding, enable homeowners to return more quickly after any future flooding, and will help reduce the cost of damages after a flood. In October, the Government also announced a significant package of support that will be available to eligible areas in England that have experienced exceptional localised flooding as a result of Storm Babet. Areas reporting over 50 flooded properties at Lead Local Flood Authority will be eligible. The Flood Recovery Framework includes:Community Recovery Grant: Eligible Local Authorities will receive funding equivalent to £500 per flooded household to support local recovery efforts. (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) (DLUHC).Business Recovery Grant: The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) may provide eligible Local Authorities up to £2,500 per eligible small and medium-sized enterprise, which has suffered severe impacts from flooding that cannot be recovered from insurance. (DBT).Council Tax Discount: The Government will reimburse eligible Local Authorities for the cost of a 100% council tax discount for a minimum of three months for both the flooded property and also for temporary accommodation for the household whilst families are unable to return home. (DLUHC).Business Rate Relief: The Government will reimburse eligible authorities for the cost of providing businesses 100% relief from business rates for a minimum of three months if flood water entered the property, or the flooding seriously impacted upon the businesses’ ability to trade from the property (DLUHC). The Government is also making payments of up to £5,000 available to help eligible flooded householders and businesses to install Property Flood Resilience measures to make their properties more resilient to future flooding (Defra). This is in addition to the Government’s commitment to double the funding from £2.6 billion (for 2015-21) to £5.2 billion (over a period of 6 years from 2021) to reduce the harm and damage caused by flooding and coastal erosion, protecting people’s lives and minimising the disruption to their livelihoods.

Horticulture: Peat

Baroness Hayman of Ullock: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they collect data on the number of (1) garden centres, and (2) other stockists of horticultural products that have removed peat-containing products from sale; and if so, whether they will publish that data.

Lord Benyon: Defra supports the compilation of an industry annual report which tracks the use of peat in growing media. The 2022 report showed that compared with 2020 peat use had fallen by almost 60% and that in retail by almost 70%. We acknowledge the significant progress made in the reducing the quantity of peat used in horticulture. The Government remains committed to legislating to phase out the use of peat as soon as parliamentary time allows.

Ministry of Justice

Criminal Cases Review Commission

Lord Woodley: To ask His Majesty's Government on whatgrounds the Criminal Cases Review Commission may refer cases to the Court of Appeal.

Lord Bellamy: The Criminal Cases Review Commission, funded by the Ministry of Justice, functions as an independent body, making decisions autonomously and without ministerial influence.Under Section 13 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995, the Court of Appeal may only quash a conviction where they consider it ‘unsafe’. The Criminal Cases Review Commission can only refer a case to the Court of Appeal, where it is satisfied there is a ‘real possibility’ that the conviction would be quashed as ‘unsafe’, or the sentence would be changed.Existing legislation allows for cases to be referred by the CCRC in exceptional circumstances where there is no fresh evidence, fresh legal argument or where the person has not exhausted appeal routes. However, the CCRC still has to consider whether there is a real possibility that the Court of Appeal will consider it unsafe.

Prisoners: Home Leave

The Earl of Sandwich: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to grant short periods of home leave over Christmas for non-violent prisoners who have demonstrated good conduct during their sentence.

Lord Bellamy: The Prison Rules in England and Wales provide that a prisoner may be allowed to leave prison for short periods on temporary licence (ROTL). The main purpose of ROTL is to aid resettlement and suitable, risk assessed prisoners may be allowed out during the day to, for example, work, attend college, attend an interview or maintain/re-establish links with their family. They are also, once at the required stage of their sentence, allowed to apply for temporary release overnight for a maximum of four consecutive nights a month. The decision to allow temporary release is taken by the prison governor, on behalf of the Secretary of State, who must always balance the needs of the prisoner and the purpose of the ROTL applied for, against the need to maintain public safety and the public’s confidence in the criminal justice system. Each decision is taken on a case by case basis to safeguard the public.

Care Leavers

Lord Carlile of Berriew: To ask His Majesty's Government whether theywill provide a timetable for updating the HM Prison & Probation ServiceStrategy for care-experienced people; and whetherthere will be a specific focus on race.

Lord Bellamy: We are updating our strategy for people with care experience in the criminal justice system, to ensure we are using their time in the criminal justice system to support them to lead crime-free lives.This will include a focus on race and its role in shaping the experiences and outcomes of those with care experience in the criminal justice system, and will link to wider departmental efforts to address racial disproportionality in the criminal justice system.We are aiming to publish this strategy in 2024.

Treatment of, and Outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Individuals in the Criminal Justice System Independent Review

Baroness Garden of Frognal: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will committo publishing an updated progress report on the implementation of the recommendations of the Lammy Review report, published in 2017, which reviewed the treatment of and outcomes for Black, Asian and minority ethnic individuals in the criminal justice system.

Lord Bellamy: In the coming Spring, the Government will again update Parliament regarding the work of the Inclusive Britain Strategy, as it did in April this year. As we work towards this, we are also considering what further updates may be provided from the Ministry of Justice regarding our work to tackle racial disparities in the Criminal Justice System, including the work we committed to in response to the Lammy Review.

Department of Health and Social Care

Climate Change: Health Hazards

Baroness Merron: To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they have put in place to deal with the predicted unequal impact of climate change and associated health conditions on those who are vulnerable, including children, older people,and those with medical conditions or living in deprived areas.

Lord Markham: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is conducting a review of the available evidence to better understand the unequal health impacts of climate change and the solutions taken to address climate change in populations included in the CORE20PLUS framework which informs action to reduce healthcare inequalities in the United Kingdom. The findings of this evidence review will inform future work by UKHSA.In April 2023, UKHSA published the Adverse Weather and Health Plan (AWHP) to protect individuals and communities from the health effects of adverse weather and developed new guidance to address the needs of specific population groups and settings. A copy of the plan is attached.Further development of the guidance will be informed by an AWHP equity review which will outline available evidence pertaining to populations included in the CORE20PLUS framework. This review will be followed by a series of research and public health recommendations.Attachment (pdf, 1183.0KB)

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact to the NHS of the 16.9 per cent uptake rate, as at 29 October, for the autumn COVID-19 booster vaccine by immunocompromised patients; and what steps they will take to increase uptake among that cohort before the vaccination programme is due to end on 15 December.

Lord Markham: Data published by NHS England reported the number of immunosuppressed individuals aged between five and 64 years old that had received vaccination by 29 October 2023 as 326,143. It is not understood where the 16.9% uptake rate within the question has been derived. The published data shows a total number of individuals who have received autumn vaccination broken down by four cohorts.We continue to work with NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency to improve immunosuppressed uptake nationally, by understanding drivers of hesitancy, improving the quality of our published data, ensuring it is easy and convenient to book and access vaccinations, and by continuing a variety of campaign activities throughout the winter including the Get Winter Strong campaign. This was launched on 1 November 2023 and encourages those eligible, specifically the clinically most vulnerable, who have not yet come forward for the flu and COVID-19 vaccines to do so.NHS England has produced and shared a range of targeted communications materials encouraging people who are immunosuppressed to take up their offer of a COVID-19 booster vaccine, including posters, display screen visuals and social media cards. There are also materials to raise awareness that immunosuppressed household contacts are also eligible for vaccination. These assets have been translated into 28 languages to reach people from a wide range of communities through their native languages and have helped general practices, vaccination centres, pharmacies and other sites to promote COVID-19 and flu vaccination this autumn and winter.The Government’s Chief Medical Officer, Prof Sir Chris Whitty, also wrote to the main charities representing the clinically most vulnerable patient cohorts, to publicise this Autumn’s campaign, and to enable them to signpost the offer to their patient communities.

Climate Change: Health Hazards

Baroness Merron: To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they have put in place to ensure the right research, data and information are in place to tackle the increasing health risks from climate change.

Lord Markham: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) works extensively with academic groups through joint research projects, and with European and international colleagues on sharing intelligence and experience on emerging disease risks. UKHSA has prioritised intervention evaluation for climate risks to health within its research partnerships and business planning. UKHSA’s Centre for Climate and Health Security is developing and expanding capacity to assess the effectiveness of measures to mitigate climate change threats to health, supported by UKHSA’s Evaluation and Epidemiological Science Unit.

Infectious Diseases: Disease Control

Baroness Merron: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the UK’s preparedness and resilience for increased risk from vector-borne diseases, and how that will be tested.

Lord Markham: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) conducts horizon scanning to detect, assess and communicate potential infectious threats to UK public health. Working across Government, UKHSA has developed guidance, and contingency plans are in preparation to support the prevention, management, and control of infectious diseases.The cross-Government One Health - Human Animal Infections Risk Assessment group assesses these threats, including vector-borne diseases posed to the four nations. Surveillance systems and diagnostic pathways are in place to detect, monitor, report and rapidly diagnose infectious diseases. UKHSA specialist laboratories work with partners to ensure readiness of testing capacity for vector-borne diseases, and to develop testing approaches to detect emerging pathogens. UKHSA will continue to work with partners on preparatory activities for vector-borne disease emergence and review and amend these plans as the risk changes.

NHS: Standards

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government how they intend to integrate advanced technologies and data analytics into the NHS to improve patient care and operational efficiency.

Lord Markham: In February 2023, the Government published its first strategy for Medical Technology, outlining the priority to ensure patients have fast and safe access to the most innovative technology that deliver the best outcomes. We are implementing solutions to streamline the innovation adoption pathway: from providing clear signals to industry on the innovation we need, to reforming regulation, comparative assessment, and improved procurement. A Copy of the strategy is attached.This will complement the investment in upgrading the analytical capability of the National Health Service, through the provision of the Federated Data Platform, which will allow trusts and integrated care boards to access software which allow them to draw together diverse operational data sets, to improve outcomes for patients. The federation aspect means that every trust and integrated care board will have access to their own version of the data platform, over which they will have complete control. In addition, a single combined programme called ‘Data Capabilities’ is underway bringing together the several strategic strands of transformation. The programme is designed to achieve a strong data and technological architecture to enable the development of high quality and efficient data flows. Significantly it will also ensure that confidential patient data can be collected, processed, deployed, and disseminated securely. This will improve the quality, availability, and interoperability of data to support multiple use cases in health and social care. The combined aims of the Data Capabilities programme are to improve the timeliness and quality of data collection, changing the way we collect data to reduce burden on the frontline; ensure the highest standards are applied to the safe handling of patient data; harmonise the data and technical architectures of the main data platforms used in NHS England so that data is being collected, curated and made available in the most secure and efficient way; expand the range, quality, and utility of data, including linked data assets; provide appropriate and timely access for users including providers, commissioners, policy makers, researchers, and patients to support the four use cases of data, namely Direct Care, population health and proactive care, planning oversight and service improvement, and research and innovation. The role data professionals play in the health sector is vital and we fully recognise the need to ensure that this important part of the workforce receives the support it needs. The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP) set out our ambition to ensure that the wider workforce has the skills it needs to deliver care in future.NHS England also intends to publish a workforce plan that will encompass the information, digital, data and technology professions. This plan will supplement the actions in the LTWP and ensure that, collectively, we are taking the actions that will put the whole NHS workforce on a sustainable footing for the long term.Attachment (pdf, 1056.8KB)

NHS: Training

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to foster a learning culture and service improvement mindset across all career pathways in the NHS, in particular through education and training for existing staff.

Lord Markham: Individual employers are responsible for ensuring their staff are trained and competent to carry out their role, and for investing in the future of their staff through providing continuing professional development (CPD) funding.To supplement local employer investment for CPD, the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, published on 30 June 2023, sets out NHS England’s commitment to continue national CPD funding for nurses, midwives, and allied health professionals. The operation of this scheme will be kept under review, to ensure subsequent funding is in line with workforce growth and inflation, well targeted and achieving the desired outcomes.There are a variety of resources available on the NHS England E-learning for Health platform designed to enhance the training and education of the health and social care workforce.

Infant Mortality

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards their target, announced in November 2014, of reducing the rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries in babies by 50 per cent by 2025.

Lord Markham: The Government’s National Maternity Safety Ambition is to halve the 2010 rates of stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths and brain injuries in babies occurring during or soon after birth by 2025. The ambition also includes reducing the rate of pre-term births from 8% to 6% by 2025.The most recently published data which measures progress against the Ambition is for 2021 and 2022. This data coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and is out of date. It will, therefore, not reflect recent efforts and initiatives to improve outcomes. The Department is working to increase the frequency and timeliness of publications, which will allow for closer monitoring of progress against the National Maternity Safety Ambition.According to the latest data for 2021 and 2022, the stillbirth rate reduced by 23%, and the neonatal mortality rate for babies born over the 24-week gestational age of viability reduced by 30% since 2010.Meanwhile, the proportion of babies born pre-term, with gestational age under 37 weeks, reduced from around 8% of all births in 2017, to 7.7% in 2021, and the overall rate of brain injuries occurring during or soon after birth has fallen to 4.2 per 1,000 births in 2019, 2% lower than the 2010 baseline.The maternal death rate has increased. In the period 2019 to 2021, the maternal death rate was 11.56 per 100,000 maternity, which is a 9% increase from the 2009-2011 baseline.The Department will keep Parliament updated when more recent data becomes available.

Oral Tobacco: Children and Young People

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the prevalence of the use of (1) oral tobacco-free nicotine pouches and (2) oral tobacco pouches, in England, especially among children and teenagers.

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made the long-term medical effects of using oral tobacco-free nicotine pouches.

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to regulate the use of oral tobacco-free nicotine pouches in England.

Lord Markham: Oral tobacco, otherwise known as snus, is banned in the United Kingdom under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016. Prevalence of oral tobacco-free nicotine pouches remains low, with data from Action on Smoking and Health in 2022 showing that 3.9% of adults had ever tried nicotine pouches.There is limited research and evidence into the harms of nicotine pouches and their ability to support smoking quit attempts. However, we will continue to monitor the evidence. Whilst there is currently no age of sale restrictions on nicotine pouches, manufacturers do print age restrictions on their packs.In October 2023, the Government and devolved administrations launched the smokefree generation and youth vaping consultation. This included consideration of whether consumer nicotine products, such as nicotine pouches, should come under a similar regulatory framework as nicotine vapes. The consultation response will be published shortly.

Home Office

Immigration: Personal Income

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government what is the percentage of UK citizens who earn above £38,700; and whether it is an intended consequence of the plan to "cut migration levels and to curb abuse of the immigration system", as announced by the Home Secretary on 4 December, to allow only UK citizens who earn above the £38,700 threshold to marry a non-British spouse and to sponsor them to live in the UK from April 2024.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: At the current Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) level of £18,600, 75% of the UK working population (based on ASHE earnings data) meet the MIR level. At the higher MIR of £38,700 – the median salary level for those on the skilled worker route, and all else being constant, around 30% of the UK working population could meet the threshold based on earnings alone. The MIR will be increased in incremental stages to give predictability. In Spring 2024, we will raise the threshold to £29,000, that is the 25th percentile of earnings for jobs which are eligible for Skilled Worker visas, moving to the 40th percentile (currently £34,500) and finally the 50th percentile (currently £38,700 and the level at which the general skilled worker threshold is set) in the final stage of implementation.Family life must not be established here at the taxpayer’s expense and family migrants must be able to integrate if they are to play a full part in British life. The MIR has not been increased for over a decade and no longer reflects the level of income required by a family to ensure they are self-sufficient and do not need to rely on public funds. It is intended that this change will contribute to reducing net migration when it is introduced in spring 2024.

Visas: Ministers of Religion

The Lord Bishop of Norwich: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Statement by the Secretary of State for Home Affairs on legal migration on 4 December (HC Deb cols 41–43), what changes, if any, will be made to the existing Tier 2 Minister of Religion visa category.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The changes announced by the Home Secretary did not include any amendments to the T2 Minister of Religion route. There are no plans to make any changes to the route at this time.

Artificial Intelligence: Offences against Children

Lord Bailey of Paddington: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to make (1) the generation, and (2) the possession, of AI-generated sexual images and videos of children a punishable offence.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Government remains firmly committed to tackling all forms of child sexual abuse online and in our communities across the UK and internationally. Our approach is underpinned by the Tackling Child Sexual Abuse Strategy which sets out firm commitments to drive action across the whole system.The law in the UK is very clear with regards to production of child sexual abuse material. It is an offence to produce, store, share or search for any material that contains or depicts child sexual abuse, regardless of whether the material depicts a ‘real’ child or not. This prohibition also includes pseudo-imagery that may have been computer-generated.Possession of indecent photographs or pseudo-photographs of children carries a maximum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment. In addition, the offence of taking, making, distribution and possession with a view to distribution of any indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child under 18 carries a maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment.Home Office investment supports the National Crime Agency to use its unique capabilities to disrupt the highest harm offenders, safeguard children and remove the most horrific child sexual abuse material from the internet, including on the dark web.The Home Office has recently rolled out new tools linked to our world-leading Child Abuse Image Database to support law enforcement to identify offenders and safeguard victims more quickly. This includes Fast Forensic Triage – a tool that enables police officers to identify known indecent images of children on suspects’ devices up to 100 times faster than before.In October, the Home Office, in partnership with the Internet Watch Foundation, hosted an AI Safety Summit side event to discuss the growing threat of generative artificial intelligence in tackling online child sexual abuse. As part of the event, the Home Office issued a joint statement on tackling the proliferation of AI-generated child sexual abuse material, with 33 signatories, including tech companies such as Snapchat, TikTok and Stability AI.

Visas: Armed Forces

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the recent proposed increase of the minimum income threshold to £38,700 for a family visa will apply to (1) serving members of the Brigade of Gurkhas, and (2) other serving foreign and commonwealth members of the armed forces.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: It is the government’s intention to increase the minimum income required for British citizens and those settled in the UK (including serving members of HM Armed Forces who are exempt from immigration control and those applying for settlement upon discharge, at the same as their family member) who want their family members to join them. This reinforces that all those who want to work and live here must be able to support themselves, are contributing to the economy, and are not burdening the state.The fees and policies that apply to the dependants of members of HM Armed Forces are closely aligned with those that apply to the dependants of other British citizens and settled persons under the standard family immigration rules, although they do recognise the unique position of Armed Forces family members.Until the Immigration Rules are amended the MIR level remains the same. The Government will set out any transitional provisions associated with the increase in the minimum income requirement in due course. Any applications already submitted will be considered in line with the existing policy.

Police: Finance

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that police forces across the UK have sufficient funding to meet the needs of their communities.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Government is proposing a total police funding settlement of up to £18.4 billion in 2024-25, an increase of up to £842.9 million when compared to 2023-24. Assuming full take up of precept flexibility, overall police funding available to PCCs will increase by up to £922.2 million (6.0% in cash terms).Decisions about the allocation of police resources locally, are a matter for Chief Constables and directly elected local policing bodies (including Police and Crime Commissioners, Mayors exercising with PCC functions and the London Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime).

Asylum: Rwanda

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the UK–Rwanda treaty for the provision of an asylum partnership aligns with the UK's international human rights commitments, including safeguarding the rights of asylum seekers.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The treaty was drafted with close care and attention by both the UK and Rwanda to ensure that the detailed approach and processes set out in detail in the treaty meet our international human rights commitments, including those under the Refugee Convention.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government what UK funding has been provided to local communities in France to mitigate the economic impact of illegal crossings of the English Channel.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The UK and France maintain a longstanding relationship on tackling illegal migration.Since signing the Sandhurst Treaty in 2018 with France the UK has provided almost €500 million in funding to support our joint work to tackle small boats crossings.UK funding supports French authorities to mitigate the impact of illegal crossings on local communities in northern France, for example by providing port security infrastructure and funding additional law enforcement personnel to manage the presence of migrants attempting to cross the Channel by small boat in the local area. UK-France cooperation to tackle small boats has resulted in over 25,000 small boats crossings prevented so far this year, with overall small boats arrivals down by over a third compared to 2022.

Asylum: Rwanda

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask His Majesty's Government through which assessment mechanism or framework they have deemed Rwanda a safe country.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: We had previously undertaken an analysis of the country situation, drawing on a wide range of publicly available evidence from a variety of reliable sources about Rwanda’s asylum system and human rights situation. Evidence was also obtained from the FCDO and from visits undertaken by the team responsible for Country Policy and Information Notes (CPIN). Information gathering was done in accordance with internationally established country-of-origin information research methods.This was supplemented with updated evidence since summer 2022, including in respect of the strengthening of Rwanda’s systems and the new treaty signed on 5 December. The treaty between the UK and Rwanda, alongside the evidence of changes in Rwanda, will enable Parliament to conclude that Rwanda is safe. The new Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill will provide Parliament with the opportunity to do so. Further information can be found in our published policy statement: Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill: policy statement.

Home Office: Amazon Web Services

Lord Clement-Jones: To ask His Majesty's Government whether Home Office data processed by Amazon Web Services under their contract,agreed on 30 November, will be disclosable to foreign governments, as per section 3 of the GDPR data protection impact assessment attached in Appendix 2 of the Supplier Terms.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Home Office holds one of the largest and most comprehensive data sets across Government. Ensuring this data is safe, secure, and is able to be fully utilised to the maximum benefit to the taxpayer is our primary concern. The Home Office agreement with AWS is based on predicted usage and is part of the Crown Commercial contract, called the One Gov Value Agreement 2 (OGVA2) which is a framework allowing all Government departments to combine to leverage an unprecedented discount on AWS services which would not be possible if each department held separate contracts.AWS provide the below statement which reinforces our requirement under a shared responsibility model to secure our data in such a way that we retain control of any disclosure:“Protecting the privacy of our customers is something that we take seriously at AWS. We recommend that customers encrypt their data as part of their overall security model when adopting cloud, and there are AWS services available to help you encrypt your data in transit and at rest (such as AWS Key Management Service and AWS CloudHSM). To be clear, the US Cloud Act / US Patriot Act do not give US Law Enforcement unfettered access to data, and only apply to evidence sought in connection with a crime over which the US has jurisdiction. We have a history of challenging government requests for customer information that we believe are inappropriate and, where we need to act to protect customers, we do; we will notify customers before disclosing any data and please be assured that content that has been encrypted is rendered useless without the applicable decryption keys.”

Police: Community Relations

Lord Godson: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to provide further advice to the Metropolitan Police and other territorial police forces as to the selection of, and relationships with, strategic partners, with a view to ensuring diversity in approach but excluding partnerships with those who have expressed extremist views, following recent reports concerning two members of theLondon Muslim Communities Forum.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Police operate independently from the Home Office. The Prevent Duty Guidance (2023) provides recommendations to police on what to consider when conducting due diligence and ensuring they have an understanding of associated risks. The Government does not tolerate those who spread divisive and harmful narratives and efforts to counter extremism span a broad range of Government and law enforcement activity and we must persist in our efforts to challenge extremist narratives, disrupt the activity of radicalising groups, and directly tackle the causes of radicalisation.

Asylum: Children

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: To ask His Majesty's Government how many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children have been received into Home Office accommodation each year since 2021 in (1) Leicester, and (2) Leicestershire.

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: To ask His Majesty's Government how many unaccompanied asylum-seeking children have gone missing from Home Office accommodation since 2021 in (1) Leicester, and (2) Leicestershire.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The wellbeing of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children is our priority. We maintain that the best place for these children to be accommodated is within local authority care.There are currently no unaccompanied children in hotels and there has never been unaccompanied asylum seeking hotels in Leicester. Nationally all unaccompanied children’s hotel accommodation has been empty since 18 November 2023. Of the 7 hotels which were operational in 2022, 6 of those were closed permanently on 30 November 2023.We take the safety of those in our care seriously. We have robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure all young people in emergency interim hotels were safe and supported as we sought urgent placements with a local authority.The specific data requested cannot be provided as it comes from live operational databases that have not been quality assured.The most recent published data can be found at Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Artificial Intelligence: Intimate Image Abuse

Lord Bailey of Paddington: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken tocriminalise the (1) production, and (2) possession, of AI-generated deepfake sexual images and videos involving real individuals.

Lord Bailey of Paddington: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to(1) address, and (2) criminalise, the production of deepfake video and audio recordings involving public figures.

Lord Sharpe of Epsom: The Home Office is currently working with the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to review the extent to which existing criminal law provides coverage of AI-enabled offending and harmful behaviour, including the production and distribution of deepfake material using generative AI.With respect to material concerning public figures, the new Online Safety Act introduces ‘false communications’ and ‘threatening communications’ offences that could cover the sending of deepfake content produced via AI, so long as the conditions are met. Other offences may also apply, such as impersonating a police officer.If the review suggests alterations to the criminal law are required to clarify its application to AI-generated synthetic and manipulated material then amendments will be considered in the usual way.

Treasury

Small Businesses: Bank Services

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure a fair balance between banks' risk management practices and the impact on small business growth, particularly concerning the use of personal guarantees for business loans.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government recognises the vital importance SMEs play in fuelling economic growth, and it's important they can access suitable lending products. Many bank lenders are signed up to a voluntary industry code – the Standards of Lending Practice – which contains clear guidance on best practice and ensures that loans which are not captured by consumer credit regulation nevertheless benefit from effective protections. Overall, the Government believes that the current approach – enforcing standards through industry bodies and voluntary codes whilst facilitating innovation and competition – is more likely to drive positive outcomes for businesses than new regulation.

Railways: Finance

Lord Bradshaw: To ask His Majesty's Government whether the Treasury considers net revenue implications when making decisions that relate to the capacity of railway services.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: DfT is responsible for decisions relating to the capacity of rail services. When proposals require HM Treasury ministers’ approval, they consider a range of factors, including revenue and cost (i.e. the impact on the taxpayer).

Carbon Emissions: Taxation

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the new carbon import levy scheduled for 2027 (1) balances the protection of domestic businesses against cheaper imports; and (2) fosters international cooperation to address global emissions.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The purpose of the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is to mitigate the risk of carbon leakage; the movement of production and associated emissions from one country to another due to different levels of decarbonisation effort through carbon pricing and climate regulation. This is necessary to avoid a situation where the UK’s decarbonisation efforts simply displace emissions overseas, rather than leading to a true reduction in global emissions. The CBAM will ensure that imported goods from relevant sectors pay a comparable carbon price to domestic goods. Alongside taking domestic action, the UK and many others around the world are working to reduce that risk by fostering international cooperation to address global emissions from some of the hardest to abate sectors. The UK is taking practical action through several global initiatives. This includes: The inclusive and cooperative international Climate Club, which launched at COP28, whose collective membership represents over 60% of global iron, steel and cement exports.Engaging closely with the OECD on its work through the Inclusive Forum on Carbon Mitigation Approaches (IFCMA) to consider the effectiveness of carbon intensity metric methodologies and how governments can use this effectively in policy making.Providing £130m of UK International Climate Finance to support more ambitious carbon pricing, and to enhance the integrity of the international carbon market, using new and innovative approaches that reduce emissions and leverage investment.Supporting several initiatives to increase adoption of carbon pricing including the Partnership for Market Implementation fund; International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) and Canada’s Global Carbon Pricing Challenge.Fostering global cooperation on industrial decarbonisation through the Industrial Deep Decarbonisation Initiative (IDDI) and the Breakthrough Agenda.

Public Finance

Lord Hunt of Kings Heath: To ask His Majesty's Government what is their response to the Institute for Fiscal Studies' assessment that (1) the Autumn Statement has extended the squeeze on public service spending to 2028–29, (2) the growth outlook has weakened, and (3) inflation is expected to stay higher for longer.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Total departmental spending in the next Parliament will continue to grow above inflation. Taken together with the significant increase (3.2% a year on average in real terms) in total departmental spending over the current Parliament, this means that total departmental spending will be £85 billion higher in real terms by 2028-29 than at the start of this Parliament (2019-20). Earlier in the year many were predicting a recession, now the economy is growing in every year of the OBR forecast and the GDP level throughout the forecast is higher than forecast at Spring. The combined impact of Autumn Statement and Spring Budget policies are expected to permanently increase the size of the economy by 0.5% by the end of the forecast. Inflation has been more persistent than the OBR forecast at Spring Budget 2023. The OBR has judged that high energy costs since Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine have had a more significant impact on inflation than it previously thought. However, we have met the PM’s priority to halve inflation this year, with inflation falling to 3.9% in November. The OBR says that Autumn Statement policies do not ‘have a material impact on the path of inflation’, and they slightly reduce inflation in 2024-25.

Loans: Interest Rates

Earl Attlee: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Vere of Norbiton on 30 November 2023 (HL457), what assessment they have made of whether the Financial conduct Authority can have confidence that lenders are correctly charging theadvertised Annual Percentage Rates (APR)if they do not undertake spot checks.

Earl Attlee: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Vere of Norbiton on 30 November 2023 (HL457), what assessment they have made of the ability of the average borrower to compare the representative Annual Percentage Rates (APR) with the actual APR offeredin the pre-contract information required to be given under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Consumer Credit Act 1974 (CCA) forms a key part of the regulation of the consumer credit market. Under the CCA’s pre-contractual requirements, firms are required to state clearly the actual (rather than representative) APR in credit agreements. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has a range of supervisory tools to identify non-compliance with relevant rules, including proactive assessments, responding to reports and complaints, and conducting thematic reviews of particular sectors. As an independent regulator, it is for the FCA to make decisions on how it supervises firms and enforces its rules. More broadly, the government is committed to working with the FCA to deliver a well-functioning and sustainable consumer credit market which meets consumers’ needs. As part of this, the government is reforming the CCA. Working closely with the FCA, it will be considering how reform can enhance consumer understanding of credit products and credit agreements, leading to improved customer outcomes.

Housing: Prices

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government, following reports that house prices rose for a second consecutive month in November, what steps they are taking to balance the impact of stabilising housing prices for consumers against challenges posed by the increased cost of living.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The most reliable measure of average house prices in the UK is published by the Office for National Statistics. The latest release is for September 2023, when the average house price in the UK was assessed to be £291,400. That leaves average UK house prices 25% higher than their average level in 2019, although 0.2% lower than their average level in September 2022.The Government has taken steps to support households vulnerable to cost of living pressures. In response to the energy crisis, the government provided one of the largest support packages in Europe. Support to households to help with the high cost of living is worth £104 billion over 2022-23 to 2024-25, or £3,700 per household on average. The Government is raising Local Housing Allowance rates in Great Britain to the 30th percentile of local market rents in April 2024. 1.6 million households will be better off, gaining £800 on average in 2024-25.The Autumn Statement also took steps to ensure that work pays and to enable people to keep more of what they earn. The announced National Insurance cut means the average worker on £35,400 will receive a tax cut in 2024-25 of over £450, which the Office for Budget Responsibility also assessed will increase employment and raise potential output. From 1 April 2024, the National Living Wage (NLW) will increase by 9.8% to £11.44, representing an increase of over £1,800 to the annual earnings of a full-time worker on the NLW.

Bank Services: Cryptoassets

Lord Goddard of Stockport: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that many UK crypto and digital asset businesses are unable to open a UK bank account.

Lord Goddard of Stockport: To ask His Majesty's Government whatdiscussions they have had with (1) the crypto and digital asset industry, and (2) the UK banking industry, regarding access to UK bank accounts for crypto and digital asset business.

Lord Goddard of Stockport: To ask His Majesty's Government whatconsideration they have given to issuing guidance to UK banks in relation to providing access to bank accounts for crypto and digital asset businesses.

Lord Goddard of Stockport: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have plans to bring forward regulation to ensure that crypto and digital asset businesses can open a UK bank account.

Lord Goddard of Stockport: To ask His Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the impact of decisions by some banks to introduce limits or restrictions on cryptocurrency transactions.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The government takes the issue of bank account access very seriously, and that is why the Chancellor asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to help us collect evidence to understand where account closures or refusals are happening and why. The FCA’s interim report (“UK Payment Accounts: Access and Closures”) set out areas for further consideration by government in relation to business accounts and we are continuing to explore this issue. HM Treasury acknowledges concerns regarding how banks’ decisions affect access to accounts and consumer payments to cryptoasset firms. However, it would not be appropriate for the government to intervene in commercial decisions taken by banks. The government is committed to supporting safe innovation within our financial technology sector; HM Treasury regularly engages with a range of stakeholders in the cryptoasset sector and is also progressing work on legislation to implement its proposals for the future financial services regulatory regime for cryptoassets, which will bring a number of cryptoasset activities into the regulatory perimeter for financial services for the first time.

Economic Situation

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of increasing consumer confidence and economic recovery in the coming months, as indicated by (1) the S&P Global/Cips Flash UK PMI composite output index, and (2)GfK’s Consumer Confidence Index, both published on 15 December; and what steps they are taking to support this.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Consumer confidence, as measured by GfK, reached a 3-month high in December, and its second-highest level since January 2022. The flash composite PMI for December rose to a six-month high. To sustain consumer and business confidence, consumers and businesses need to feel assured that their government is taking the long-term decisions necessary to strengthen the economy, promote macroeconomic stability, and build a brighter future. In January 2023 the Prime Minister set out three economic priorities: to halve inflation, grow the economy and reduce debt. Progress is being made against all three of these. Consumers are directly benefitting from the responsible approach taken to prioritise economic stability and make work pay. The cut in National Insurance contributions means the average worker on £35,400 will receive a tax cut in 2024-25 of over £450. From 1 April 2024, the National Living Wage (NLW) will increase by 9.8% to £11.44, representing an increase of over £1,800 to the annual earnings of a full-time worker on the NLW. The Autumn Statement included an ambitious package of measures to unlock business investment. Permanent full expensing, worth over £10 billion a year, is the biggest business tax cut in modern British history. The OBR expect it to unlock an additional £14 billion of investment over the forecast period. Together with submitted plans for investment in regulated utilities, the Autumn Statement measures could raise business investment by around £20 billion per year in a decade’s time.

Economic Growth

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to data released by the Office for National Statistics on 13 December showing that the economy shrank by more than expected in October, what steps they are taking toboost economic activity.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The government has consistently backed the UK’s growth potential and is meeting the PM’s pledge to grow the economy without fuelling inflation and providing the foundation to get debt falling. The CX announced a major growth package at Spring Budget 2023 and the Autumn Statement built on this, with measures to boost economic activity. The combined impact of the Autumn and Spring policy packages is a permanent 0.5% increase in the level of potential output by the end of the OBR’s forecast and an increase in the number of people in work by around 200,000 by the end of the forecast. The measures could also boost business investment by around £20 billion per year in a decade's time. Key measures include:the largest ever cut to employee and self-employed National Insurance – a tax cut worth over £9bn per yeara new offer of 30 hours free childcare for eligible working parents, part of the comprehensive £7 billion employment package at Spring Budget 2023 and, building on this at Autumn Statement 2023, a Back to Work Plan, supported by over £2.5 billion in funding over the next five years to help people look for and stay in work, manage their health conditions, and stem the flow into sickness related inactivitymaking full expensing permanent, the biggest business tax cut over a 5 year period in modern British history – worth over £10bn a yearremoving barriers to business investment, for example by reforming our inefficient planning system, and catalysing the UK’s growth industries of the future, for example by making £4.5bn available for strategic manufacturing sectors over five years.

Overseas Trade

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made ofwhether to align new rules on reducing settlement times for trades with the United States or the European Union.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: In December 2022 the Chancellor established the ‘Accelerated Settlement Taskforce’. This industry taskforce will examine the case for trades to be settled more quickly in the UK, such as moving to a ‘T+1’ standard settlement period. The full terms of reference can be found on gov.uk[1]. The government looks forward to receiving the taskforce’s recommendations and setting out its next steps as appropriate. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/accelerated-settlement-taskforce

Mortgages: Arrears

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government, further to recent data from the Bank of England which showed that mortgage arrears are at their highest rate in six years, what stepsthey are taking to mitigate the negative impact on homeowners in light of the increased cost of living.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The pricing of mortgages is a commercial decision for lenders in which the Government does not intervene. However, we recognise this is a concerning time for mortgage borrowers. The path to lower interest rates is through low inflation. The independent Monetary Policy Committee continues to have the Government’s full support as it takes action to return inflation to target. The Government’s Mortgage Charter – in addition to the significant safeguards already in place – is providing support to vulnerable households; and mortgage arrears and repossessions remain low. More broadly, the Government has taken decisive action to support households across the UK through the cost-of-living challenges, while remaining fiscally responsible. Overall, the Government is providing support worth over £104 billion over 2022-2023 to help households and individuals with the rising cost of living – an average of over £3,700 per UK household.

Child Trust Fund

Lord Blunkett: To ask His Majesty's Government how many unclaimed Child Trust Funds are (1) currently outstanding and (2) outstanding where there is a continuing requirement for court approval to parents being able to access the Fund on behalf of their adult children.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: Information on Child Trust Funds (CTFs) are available in HMRC’s Annual Savings Statistics[1]. (1) As of April 2022, there were 428,000 matured accounts continuing as CTFs that had not been claimed or automatically transferred to an ISA. (2) The Government does not hold information relating to the number of unclaimed Child Trust Funds where there is a need for a Power of Attorney or other court order to control their financial resources. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-savings-statistics-2023

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Tree Felling: Urban Areas

Lord Scriven: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to stop companies installing high speed broadband having the right to fell urban street trees, which is regarded as permitted development under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

Viscount Camrose: The legal framework underpinning rights to install and maintain digital communications infrastructure on land is contained in the Electronic Communications Code (“the Code”), which was substantially reformed in 2017. In addition to complying with any requirements imposed by planning law, telecommunications operators installing electronic communications apparatus must also act in accordance with the Code. One of the Code rights that can be included in any agreement between Code operators and landowners regulated by the Code is the right to lop or cut back trees or other vegetation where that interferes with electronic communications apparatus. The inclusion of such a code right will depend on all of the circumstances of any particular case and the agreement can include specific terms as to how such a right is to be exercised. In addition, Part 13 of the Code sets out the circumstances in which a telecommunications operator may be permitted to lop trees and cut back vegetation that overhangs a street in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, or a road in Scotland, without this being included within the terms of a code agreement. This includes a process through which notice must be given to the occupier of the land on which the tree or vegetation is growing. Absent an objection from the occupier, the operator may cause the tree to be lopped or the vegetation to be cut back, albeit this must be done in such a way as to cause the minimum damage to the tree or vegetation. These provisions enable operators to effectively roll out networks, as interference caused by trees and vegetation can cause delays and damage to apparatus, while ensuring that any damage to the tree or vegetation is limited. Separately to Code rights, the Forestry Commission produces guidelines on the felling of trees: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tree-felling-getting-permission. As access to digital services is becoming increasingly important to businesses and consumers throughout the UK, we are working to make sure that everyone has world-class connectivity. The legal framework in place under the Code not only provides operators with statutory rights to install and maintain their networks; but also imposes specific duties and obligations on them which must be adhered to. We believe that communities benefit enormously from the deployment of high quality digital infrastructure, with all the economic and social benefits it brings. We want to make sure that deployment happens efficiently, but at the same time, in ways that make sure the impact on communities and the environment is taken into account and broad support is maintained for the rollout of this critical infrastructure.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

World War II: Alderney

Lord Rooker: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have received any representations from interested parties regarding restrictions for making submissions to the review into the number of prisoners who died on Alderney during the Nazi occupation, and what steps the review has taken to obtain relevant material from such parties.

Baroness Penn: The UK’s Post Holocaust Issues Envoy, Lord Eric Pickles announced the review into the number of prisoners who died on Alderney during the Nazi occupation on July 27, 2023. He has appointed a team of eleven independent, experienced, and internationally recognised experts led by Dr Paul Sanders the renowned French academic. The review is also receiving expert assistance from the Archives at Yad Vashem, the world’s preeminent Holocaust Centre. Lord Pickles has publicly encouraged all interested parties to put forward their evidence and has met with several groups and individuals who have expressed their interest in the review.The department works closely with the Channel Islands on Holocaust issues.

Elections: Disclosure Of Information

Lord Hayward: To ask His Majesty's Government when in 2022 officials first received counsel’s opinion from the Electoral Commission in relation to voter secrecy under the Representation of the People Act 1983.

Baroness Penn: Officials first received counsel’s advice from the Electoral Commission on 26 August 2022, and a follow-up opinion on 29 September 2022.

Department for Work and Pensions

Disability

Lord Watson of Invergowrie: To ask His Majesty's Government when they will publish their disability action plan; and whether they expect publication to be delayed due to the cancellation of the role of minister for disabled people, health and work.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Disability Action Plan consultation was published on 18 July 2023. The consultation ran for 12 weeks from 18 July to 6 October 2023. Since then, we have been carefully working through the responses and will publish our response to that plan in early 2024. On 14 December, Government confirmed the appointment of Mims Davies as the new Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work. The Minister will build upon this Government’s strong track record and champion the issues disabled people face to ensure that their voices continue to be heard in all parts of government. We will build on our existing measures including through our multi-billion-pound support plans announced at Autumn Statement to help millions more disabled people get into and stay in work.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Boiler Upgrade Scheme: Heat Pumps

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to extending the £7,000 available to homeowners to support air source heat pump installation through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme to support heat networks; and what other stepsthey are taking to encourage heat pump installations in areas of terraced housing where ground or air source heat pump installation may prove impractical.

Lord Callanan: The Boiler Upgrade Scheme provides upfront grants to support the installation of air source heat pumps, ground source heat pumps and biomass boilers in individual properties. Ground source heat pumps attached to a shared ground loop are eligible, where the system capacity does not exceed 45kW. We are working with industry and local authorities to develop new heat networks and improve existing ones, including through an additional £530m to extend the Heat Network Transformation Programme to 2028, and introducing heat network zoning in 2025 to identify areas where heat networks are expected to be the lowest cost solution for decarbonising heat.

Energy: Prices

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask His Majesty's Government what measures they are implementing to alleviate the financial burden of energy bills on struggling households, while ensuring the energy market stays resilient.

Lord Callanan: The Government is continuing to support those most in need, with millions of vulnerable households receiving up to £900 in further Cost of Living Payments. This is in addition to support available to low-income and vulnerable households, including £250 - £600 through the Winter Fuel Payment and an annual rebate of £150 off their energy bills through the Warm Home Discount. Energy prices have also significantly fallen in the past year alone and the Q1 2024 price cap of £1,928 has more than halved compared to Q1 2023 when the price cap peaked at £4,279.

Cabinet Office

Windsor Framework

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) further statutory instruments, or (2) other pieces of legislation, they still need to bring forward to fully implement the Windsor Framework.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Since the Windsor Framework was agreed in February 2023, the Government has been working to deliver the full benefits of that agreement for people and businesses in Northern Ireland. The Government has introduced secondary legislation to that effect and any further legislation would be introduced in Parliament in the usual way.

Windsor Framework

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government how manymeetings have taken place of each of the five joint consultative UK–EU sub-groups established under the Windsor Framework.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: Consistent with the Joint Consultative Working Group (JCWG) rules of procedure, meetings of the structured sub-groups to the JCWG are held as necessary and on a confidential basis.

Windsor Framework

Lord Weir of Ballyholme: To ask His Majesty's Government whetherall five joint consultative UK–EU sub-groups as outlined in the Windsor Framework have been established and complete membership appointed on both sides.

Baroness Neville-Rolfe: The rules of procedure of the Joint Consultative Working Group (JCWG) provide for the establishment of structured sub-groups. Five new structured sub-groups have been established and UK and EU co-chairs for each group have been appointed. Consistent with the JCWG rules of procedure, before each meeting, those sub-groups inform each other of the intended composition of their respective delegations. The delegations are confidential unless otherwise decided by the co-chairs.